1Youth have been partnering with Pertapis Children’s Home (PCH), a protected home for children who are victims of domestic abuse from parents. In 2018, the youth group organised a health screening and mindfulness session for the children and engaged them in sports and games as well as a celebratory meal during Ramadan.

 

The home shared, that while the children had regular interaction with senior donors (many from corporate companies/organisations) whom they would meet every once in a while, they did not have much regular, consistent interaction with youths who they could perhaps relate to on a more personal level; the way they would with an elder sibling. 

 

In response, 1Youth formed a group of volunteers who were keen to build on their previous experiences volunteering at PCH to start a small scale, mentoring programme where they would design structured, simple classes for the children, share their life experiences and skills with them, and hopefully be able to make a positive impact on their lives at the age when they are most impressionable - just before going to secondary school.

 

On April 21, 2019, the youth group conducted an introductory session with 19 children - eight boys and eleven girls – a target group they had specifically asked PCH to identify. Save for the weekday commute to school and back, the children in this group are largely confined to the home and do not have many interactions/outings with relatives and family.

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The introductory session was aimed at getting acquainted with the children and for the children to be familiar with 1Youth volunteers. The session was a success and the youth were able to better understand the children’s needs; for example, the areas they were lacking in and the places they hoped to visit. The children shared with the youth their aspirations and personal thoughts and touched them greatly with their innocence and enthusiasm for life!

 

In the next few months, the youth group is looking to plan some structured activities within PCH, based on team building games and human values lessons with themes such as Respect, Generosity and Compassion. They also hope to take the children to educational places in Singapore such as the National Library.

 

These children are the future of the world and it is such a blessing to interact with them and learn from them at close quarters! 

 

Note: the pose in the picture is a trademark pose the children of the home do with their donors and volunteers to protect their identities.